Looks Can Be Deceiving
by TabbyKat405
Summary: Growing up as monsters is not an easy thing, but when you have your twin by your side, you realize that there isn't much you can't accomplish as long as you stick together. Rated T because I'm paranoid.


**...howdy ya'll...been a while hasn't it? I'm so sorry for that! So many things started happening since Christmas and I just totally lost inspiration for so long, but I've recently found it again thanks to a friend of mine. You see, just two days ago, I was with some friends bowling and my real good friend (who is practically my twin sister to be quite honest) told me that I was pretty much dead on Fanfiction because I haven't updated in so long. That sparked something inside of me. I don't want to be dead on Fanfiction. So SnowLeopard02 (that's her username on this site), if you're reading this, thank you so much for all your encouragement and just for being a good friend in general. We shall forever be unrelated twins.**

 **Anyone else should really check out her stories, she writes really good stuff.**

 **Now onto the story. So I've been into reading Monster Falls lately, and I wanted to put my own twist on this au. The idea of this story is that I'll be posting oneshots of Stan and Ford or Dipper and Mabel (or maybe all 4 of them in the future) working to get through life despite their monster appearances and the cons that comes with those appearances. The history of how everyone came to be monsters will be explained in this first chapter so the whole story won't seem confusing.**

 **Now enough of my rambling. Here's the moment you've all been waiting for for 7 months now. Drum roll please...here...is the first chapter!...man, it feels great to be saying that sort of thing again.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls or this au.**

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Ford threw his pencil across the table in frustration. This just wasn't working. Writing was just too hard for him. If he couldn't even write, what could he do?

You'd think that by 3rd grade, a child would know how to hold a pencil and write. That was not the case for Ford. His paws and claws made the task impossible. He always got so frustrated whenever he tried to write because it looked more like gibberish than English, but the more he moved along in school, the more requiring it became for a child to have the ability to write. So alas, Ford was eventually going to have to push his angry feelings aside and just make it at least legible.

The assignment was quite easy. Write 3 paragraphs on whatever you want on the monster species. Whether it was how the personality of the person defined how they looked physically or describe their own family history of the monster species. Ford wanted to tell the legend of how the monster species came to be. The legend is that 400 years ago, there was an evil light had cursed a river that was later named Fluvius Cantatis and not long after, people started drinking from the river and the enchanted water turned them into monsters. Somehow, it became like a second round of the Black Death, except this time, it affected every human on Earth. It was rare to see an actual being that was 100% human. Of course the beginning part with the light seemed unreal, but everyone had been turned into monsters, and that had been unreal to many people, so many believed it, even though they don't have proof if that's what actually happened. That's why it's still called a legend until proof is found. Scientists had been searching for years for the real origin or a cure to make everyone human again, but so far, all attempts had been futile for both. Ford knew all this. Now he just had to somehow find a way to put it on paper.

Man, as if being constantly teased about his six fingers wasn't bad enough. The fact that he couldn't write his own assignments just made the whole situation worse.

Just as he was about to stand up and go pick up the pencil, his twin brother, Stan, walked into the kitchen. Despite the fact that Ford was a sphinx and Stan was a gargoyle, it wasn't hard to tell that they were twins. They both still had the same hair and brown eyes (even though Stan's still had a little yellow tint to them). Stan only had claws, so he learned to write pretty quickly, which made Ford extremely jealous (not that he'd ever admit it aloud). Stan noticed the pencil on the ground and picked it up, waving it teasingly in front of Ford.

"Having trouble writing again, Poindexter?" Stan asked in a teasing manner.

Ford just have him a flat expression and snatched the pencil back.

"Come on, Fordsy. I'm just playing", Stan pouted.

"And I don't appreciate it right now," Ford responded.

"Yeah, you've made that clear. Look, do you want me to help you?" Stan asked. He knew how exasperated his brother got sometimes when it came to writing. Sometimes Stan had to flat out write the assignment for him if Ford just got too upset.

"No! For just one time in my life, I want to do it on my own!" Ford exclaimed. He was tired of having to ask Stan to have to write for him. It made him feel like a baby.

"It's okay to ask for help sometimes Ford, and right now, it's more than clear that you need it. After all, I've been writing your assignments for a while now. I think I can handle whatever big words you throw my way", Stan tried to reason.

Ford sighed. "I know Stan, but I want to show everyone that I can do something as simple as this. I'm tired of feeling like I'll never be able to do it. If I don't try now, when am I _supposed_ to try to start learning? It has to happen at some point, and it's better that I happens while I'm young rather than when I get older", Ford explain, hoping Stan would just leave it at that.

"Alright Poindexter, you've made your point," Stan said, holding his hands up in surrender. Ford thought he'd leave right then like he usually did when Ford asked to try for a while longer, but was shocked when Stan sat down right next to him. This was new.

"What are you doing?" Ford asked.

"I'm gonna sit here and make sure you don't give up on writing. Neither of us are moving from this spot until you're done and I don't care if it takes all night," Stan said and crossed his arms, showing that he was serious. Ford sat there, shocked for a few seconds before a small smile crept across his face. With renewed determination, he picked up the pencil and tried again.

That small assignment for school was just the tip of the iceberg. For years to come, every time they had to write some sort of report or really do any homework for school, the brothers would sit at the kitchen table for hours working to improve Ford's handwriting. Stan was extremely patient with Ford and gave him plenty of encouragement. He helped Ford find a way to hold the pencil or pen comfortably without his paws bothering him and showed him his trick on how to keep the claws out of the way. By the time they hit high school, Ford had the best handwriting out of anybody in their grade. Even their English teacher had said so, and when she asked how he did it with having paws and claws, he had only one response.

"Let's just say," Ford started and looked at Stan, who was chatting with one of their few friends, "I had a bit of encouragement."

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 **And there's the first chapter! This a first! This is a first in 7 months! I'm so happy! Thank you for reading and not to worry, the next chapter will be out soon. And I promise this time. Because just like Ford, I've got a bit of encouragement (Once again, thanks SnowLeopard02! You're a true friend!). Until next time you guys, bye!**


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